Starting up a brewery seems hard. Especially to an outsider, like me, who hasn’t and will probably never try. So kudos from me to anyone who gives it a go, especially when it’s a unique concept such as that of EYES Brewing. EYES have started up the UK’s one and only Wheat-focused brewery, and they also think that it is the first of its kind anywhere in the world since the Second World War.

As well as having an original concept for their brewery, Dan, Chris and Tom also have a pretty eventful back story, as explained by Dan. ‘After my little girl was born I stepped away from a career in stand up comedy and back in to teaching. After going on a day of brewing with Andy and Steve from Learn to Brew, now Crooked Brewing, Tom and I started to get into the theory and make up of beer. As I was building an extension on my house, my wife suggested we build a little bit on the back to put a small brew house in. I paid for the room, Chris and Tom paid for the brewery, and then EYES home brewing was born.’

From banding together over a 100L kit, things progressed when Chris had the opportunity to become an assistant brewer under master brewer Al (now at Brass Castle) at Ainsty Ales in York, learning how to brew on scale. However, things weren’t running as smoothly for Dan in this period. ‘I was struggling with depression and ended up in hospital. The school I was working for were incredibly supportive until they saw a photo of me at York CAMRA Beer festival’. Disappointingly, the school then changed tack and pressured Dan to quit his job, resulting in a legal battle which ended with him being awarded compensation for his unfair treatment.

Eventually, alongside a small business loan EYES finally had enough money to buy a van, a fleet of casks and ingredients for the first few brews. In December 2016 they started to sell their first beer, cuckoo brewed at Ainsty Ales, an arrangement which has worked well leading to them brewing at various places in and around Yorkshire. The EYES team is now a quartet of Dan, Chris, Nev and Tom.

EYES are looking to stand out with their range of Wheaty treats, in particular one from the darker end of the scale. ‘Dark Harvest will be a stand out for people as it is one of the world’s first ever Black Hopfenweisses. When we started brewing we started to make German style Hefeweizens as this is what we loved to drink. We then decided to see if we could create more British and American styles of beer but continue to keep over 50% wheat in the grist. Our first ever sale was in Whitelocks which we found incredible, and we will be bringing some exciting cask beer as well as cans’.

The EYES crew are looking forward to attending Festival of Brewers, and are relishing the thought of being a part of a small, independent event. ‘This is like an underground gig for bands to look out for. Leeds has an incredible history when it comes to brewing and this is the future. I think people should get a ticket to see some of the innovation and up and coming stars of this great City of Beer. Though we are pretty much a festival of relative unknowns in the beer world we have a lot of variety amongst us. This is what I am looking forward to. There will be so many different beer styles to get. You won’t get sick of the same beers again and again like you may at other festivals’

About the Festival of Brewers

The first ever Festival of Brewers event takes place on 29th and 30thJune 2018, with New Craven Hall hosting, which can be found just one-mile South of Leeds City Train Station.

All too often, independent beer festivals choose to focus their attention on the same, larger, popular UK craft breweries. This makes it difficult for the hundreds of smaller breweries across the UK to share the spotlight. Festival of Brewers aims to address that by only showcasing the small and independent breweries.

You can find out all the information, including participating breweries and street food vendors, tickets and how to find the venue on the website www.festivalofbrewers.co.uk.

As an introduction to the inaugural Festival of Brewers in Leeds on June the 29th/30th, organiser Mike Hampshire and I will be profiling some of the attending breweries, some of which may be new to drinkers in Leeds and beyond. First up for me is Horsforth Brewery.

Suburban Brewing Dreams

Horsforth lays claim to being the largest village in the United Kingdom which, given that it is now a rather sizeable suburb of Leeds, seems like a bit redundant. It’s certainly more like a small town these days, with decent pubs, eateries, a University and more recently, a brewery.

Like Horsforth itself, Mark Costello’s Horsforth Brewery has also grown recently. From an accomplished home brewing set up to 1bbl capacity brewhouse, brewing twice a week, Mark decided to take the next step last year. Whilst the business seemingly operates out of Mark’s garage, the building was actually reconstructed with the sole purpose of being his brewhouse, resulting in a compact but professional setup.

The Shiny Hose House

Mark still brews part time alongside his existing job at the moment and enjoys the balance that gives him. ‘I’m hoping that Festival of Brewers will be an indication of how well things are going. I don’t struggle to sell beer, and the Horsforth Pale absolutely flies out on cask, which makes it my go-to beer at the moment and which I brew as much as possible. I’m a big fan of Saisons as well, I did one last year and I’ve been waiting for summer to brew it again. Wheat beers are also a favourite, and I like Rye beer especially my Black Rye IPA, which is a bit of a hard one to get people to try, but once they do I find that they like it’.

Expansion and Identity

Mark acknowledges the pressure of establishing his brewery in a busy market, and sees it as important to create an identity and brew beers ‘that work’. ‘There may be more adventurous brewers than me out there, but i like creating beers that showcase the flavours that are meant to be there. And some people may call my brewery traditional, but others may call me a crazy brewery – not many trad brewers make 7.5% fruity saisons. I look to people like Magic Rock who understand the width of their customer base. As the market for beer around Horsforth has grown, with new places like the Hop Shack and Granville’s widening people’s horizons, creating a great hoppy cask Pale will lead to them trying my other beers on the back of it’.

Plans afoot

Mark’s beers have made it into most of Leeds’ bottleshops, as well as Ilkley, Otley and Ossett, but given that every brew is selling out at the moment, Mark acknowledges that extra capacity is going to be needed to further increase supplies, as well as investing the time to secure new customers. Last year’s bottled Raspberry Saison sold out to the trade within a day of release which indicates how well regarded the brewery was even after only operating at it’s current scale for a short period.

Festival Plans

Given the success of the previous brew, Mark is planning to showcase his Saisons at the Festival of Brewers. ‘I’m going to have four Keg beers – Horsforth Pale, Rubis (my Raspberry Saison), Soleil (my Rhubarb Saison) and Weiße Rose (my Hefeweizen). My Hefe is typically full of that Banana aroma that we associate with German wheat beers and i’m looking forward to seeing how people respond to it’.

‘I’m looking forward to the experience of having my own bar for the first time, I’ve worked bars before but this one really counts personally and I’m looking forward to seeing drinkers’ reactions up close. I haven’t advertised the brewery at all other than on social media, so I’m looking forward to seeing who’s heard of me too! Getting feedback from unbiased customers is fantastic, especially if it’s good.’

Cleaning and Prepping

Unity and Togetherness

Speaking to Mark, it’s clear how much being involved with the Festival of Brewers means to him, and how excited he is to begin pouring for the public. ‘It’s a really interesting idea, as there are loads of good beer festivals out there that all feature the well known breweries, and rightly so, but this is a unique range of breweries and I’ve always liked the idea of supporting the little guy – and in comparison to others the breweries here are the little guy. All the owners of the attending breweries will care deeply about the event, and will have put a lot of effort into their setup for the day, so to see customers making that effort to attend in return will be really encouraging to us. I’m looking forward to trying the beers that Crooked Brewing bring to the festival, and they’re great guys as well. I’ve not had too much from Wishbone, which i’m looking forward to sampling, and trying Meanwood Brewery’s beers.’

As I talk to Mark, he is prepping to brew his Raspberry Saison for the festival and is thinking over a few tweaks to the recipe to ensure the beer will taste better than ever, and he is full of praise for the other brewers that he knows will be doing the same. It’s clear that any competitiveness between bars will be of the friendly variety, and this togetherness will be a real strength not only at the Festival, but for the Leeds brewing scene going forwards.

This good boy poked his nose in briefly

About the Festival of Brewers

The first ever Festival of Brewers event takes place on 29th and 30thJune 2018, with New Craven Hall hosting, which can be found just one-mile South of Leeds City Train Station.

All too often, independent beer festivals choose to focus their attention on the same, larger, popular UK craft breweries. This makes it difficult for the hundreds of smaller breweries across the UK to share the spotlight. Festival of Brewers aims to address that by only showcasing local small and independent breweries.

You can find out all the information, including participating breweries and street food vendors, tickets and how to find the venue on the website www.festivalofbrewers.co.uk.

Remember when you could get a pint for less than three quid? Remember when pubs used to smell interesting? Remember when you could order a drink without being stuck behind people waiting for Gin cocktails? Remember when everywhere shut at 11pm? Remember when pubs closed in the afternoons? Remember when this place was heaving every lunchtime? Remember when I could drink six pints without needing a piss? Remember when she used to be in here with me every night? Remember when the police were called? Remember when this place got shut down?

As a child growing up in the Isle of Thanet, Kent (not an actual Isle) my exposure to the pub was mostly a relatively humdrum experience, usually for a family occasion, or maybe a meal, even a new year’s eve visit. The odd trip up to my Dad’s local to watch him play for his Pool team, was about as exciting as pubs got for me during my early teens. Even as I got slightly older, and started paying for my own drinks the venues were quite run of the mill – we would go wherever would serve us, given that we were 16 or 17 at the time. Even during my student years in Leeds, the pubs were still just wallpaper in a occasionally visited room of my life, and the beer was of even less significance. Gradually, as I became more interested in beer and pubs, this changed. As did the places I visited – on visits back to Margate the difference was clearer, less good beer was available there and I could count the number of places worth visiting on one finger.

As a native turned occasional visitor, there’s no doubt I was missing somewhere that would have been a cut above the rest, but generally Thanet’s pubs were either owned by the local family operator or a national PubCo and were much the same. Friday and Saturday nights were busy everywhere, of course, but it was generally the same places and faces. Nowadays, this is far from the case. Having just spent a week in Margate and it’s wider locale I’ve been to less than a third of the places I would usually have liked to visit. Whilst the micropub revolution is still alive and kicking, there’s plenty of ‘regular’ sized pubs and bars that are worth visiting as well.

Originally resurrected in 2014 by the now defunct Late Knights Brewery, the Ravensgate Arms was forcibly shut when it had its licence revoked last year due to allegations of opening after hours and breaches of the licence conditions, a decision that mystified many. The consensus opinion seemed to be that the management had been enjoying themselves a bit too much, and the authorities took a dim view of a few incidents by throwing the book at them. Luckily, Eddie Gadd, of the Ramsgate Brewery, joined forces with the original manager of the pub from 2014, to take over, reopening late last year. The pub not only has a great range of keg and cask beer, but a lively atmosphere and that ‘proper pub’ feel. If you’re into visiting a place with that ‘backstreet boozer’ feel, Gadd’s beers and guests can also be found at the Montefiore Arms, a short stroll away.

Now nestled away on an industrial estate, Eddie Gadd and his team have been operating The Ramsgate Brewery since 2002 when they operated on an old Firkin brewpub kit down in Ramsgate Harbour. Whilst the brewery may mainly have a reputation for making excellent traditional ales using Kentish hops, they also produce bretted pales, tripels, sour beers and much more besides. Tours are operated on Saturdays, and there’s an on-site shop offering packaged and draught beer to take away. Ramsgate Brewery alumni are spread far and wide across the UK these days, and Gadd’s have been influential in the current new wave of breweries, even if Eddie himself regards some of the surrounding culture with healthy cynicism.

Despite the name, the Bottleshop in Margate is primarily a bar – the owners being the Bottleshop importers/wholesalers, originating from Canterbury but now with their main sites in East London and Bermondsey. As they themselves have discussed, the decision to open a bar here was a bold one – but which seems to have paid off. Certainly, other than the Ravensgate there isn’t as good a beer selection elsewhere in Thanet, and their position, straddling Margate Old Town and the Seafront is a prime location for tourists and locals. Modern, sleek, but welcoming, this is a must-visit.

From the modern to the old, of sorts, The Old Cottage Pub has been undergoing a long, painstaking process of redevelopment and is scheduled to open this year. The building dates back from 1650 and the owners have taken every possible step to restore the building’s features, as well as install an on-site microbrewery. Their facebook page has been sporadically updated, including a 18 month period of silence, but I am assured that progress is being made. If you’re at a loose end, you can see their appearance on Homes Under the Hammer here. If historical pubs interest you it’s worth checking out the Northern Belle, a short walk from here, which has been operating since 1680. Also of significance is the UK’s largest branch of Wetherspoons at the Royal Victoria Pavilion in Ramsgate, a Grade II listed building – grand, opulent, and sympathetically restored. Ultimately it is still a ‘spoons though.

Much has been written about the relatively short history of Micropubs, and with Kent being the epicentre of the explosion its unsurprising to learn that Thanet is chock full of them. Amongst the crowd, there are a few that are particularly noteworthy – The Yard of Ale was a CAMRA national pub of the year finalist in 2015, and is based in the yard of a Funeral Directors’, The Fez is located on Margate high street and is eccentrically furnished with all sorts of tat and treasures, and The Four Candles in St Peter’s bills itself as the smallest brewpub in Britain – producing its own bottles and casks in the basement. It might disappoint the micropub purists, but The Tap Room in Cliftonville and the Lifeboat in Margate Old Town also now sell Keg. The horror!

My feelings towards the Isle have and haven’t changed, in terms of liveability its infinitely preferable now than when I was younger but its hard to tell if my ageing has been the main factor, or if the diversification of the area into a more lively, if still edgy place is more appealing. Certainly, it wasn’t an outwardly appealing place in my youth, but with the influx of new blood parts of it are markedly attractive – but thankfully still not in a shiny, polished way. There’s still a huge disparity between the inhabitants, with some very deprived communities and resentment of the DFLs (down from London) from the older, more backwards-focused residents, but ultimately the injection of culture and life over the last five or so years is vital and welcomed, especially for those looking for good beer

For this month’s edition of the Session, the proposed subject is ‘Hometown Glories’. Take this and run with it how you wish, but when thinking about possible subjects I had in mind an imminent visit to the place I spent my formative years and blogging about it’s highlights and wider beer scene. Possible starting points could be –

Describing the types of bars/pubs you have in your home town, how popular are they? Has craft beer culture made much of a splash?

Are there any well-known breweries? Is there a particular beer or style that is synonymous with your home town

History of the town and how that can be reflected in its drinking culture

Tales of your youth, early drinking stories

Ruminations on what once was and what is now? Have you moved away and been pleasantly surprised or disappointed on return visits?

My visit over the next week is going to hopefully inspire me, and it’s a great excuse to visit a few old haunts and new venues. If you’re less enamoured with your hometown, or even if you left and never returned, feel free to respond anyway – maybe you’re an adopted native of somewhere better. My home town is no longer my home, so if you’d like to write about the place you feel most at home in relation to beer, that would be welcomed too.

I’m hoping this will spark a wide range of topics within the wider theme, and I look forward to reading your responses. Tag me in on Twitter – @barrelagedleeds – or comment below with a link if you prefer, by or on Friday the 2nd March.

As I’m sure you’re all tired of hearing, I, along with many other volunteers participated in the Tryanuary campaign this year, trying to organise events and generally encourage people to visit pubs and try something new. Judging by the levels of engagement on social media and attendance at various events it looks to have been a successful month, and I thought I’d put down a few notes on the campaign, how it was received, and where I think it could go in the future.

From a personal perspective, the Tryanuary efforts this year were a positive thing – not just because of the aim of the campaign, but also because it isn’t designed to aggressively critique the choice of people who have sworn off booze for the month. Its a tricky balance to strike, but publicising events, breweries etc was done in a non-judgemental way, and I didn’t see anyone who was speaking on behalf of the campaign adopting an overly anti-dryanuary stance, which isn’t to say no-one did.

In response to both campaigns, there were also a fair number of ‘Why?’ comments. Aside from the predictable ‘why do we need a campaign for something I do anyway? -missing the point that we’re not aiming our efforts at regular pub goers – there were others which actually raised a number of useful points, for example ‘Why are we seemingly focusing almost exclusively on ‘craft’ breweries and pubs – shouldn’t the campaign encourage patronage across the industry as a whole?’ Which, I kind of agree with – after all, with the high rate of pub closure across the UK, more effort needs to be made to encourage visiting local pubs. If your response to this is, ‘why? My local serves crap beer/has no atmosphere/the staff are unwelcoming’, then without your presence, mentioning what you’d like to see, talking to the management, then nothing will change. It might not change even if you did go more, but its worth trying at least isn’t it?

Through the events that we and others helped organise this month, the best part for me has been meeting other drinkers, brewers and industry staff and chatting about future ideas and plans in great pubs/bars. I would like to see a renewed focus on venues for next year’s campaign as whilst we all want to celebrate our favourite beers and breweries, in order for this to continue to flourish the on-trade needs to recover from a pretty dismal 10-20 years. One common question I saw from pubs and bars was ‘how do we get noticed?’. Given the all pervading nature of Social Media, it almost seems alien to some that the vast majority of premises don’t know how to, or prefer not to, utilise these tools to publicise themselves. I’m not an expert either, but perhaps if you are, then providing informal support and advice in this regard to businesses in your area would be welcomed.

Going forward, I will undoubtedly continue supporting the bars and pubs that I enjoy visiting the most, but my aim this year is to diversify the types of places I drink in, and to encourage people who don’t often bother visiting pubs to come along. Why not start a work pub club, for example? Undoubtedly, some pubs are and will remain, rubbish, but at least get out there and see what’s on offer. All year round!

For this month’s collective beer blogging session, Jon at The Brewsite has proposed the topic of Home brewing as a jumping off point for us to explore.

My only experience of home brewing so far was definitely a lesson, possibly even a disaster. My generous other half purchased an all-grain kit from Brooklyn Brewshop for me as a christmas present, following on from a crash course I had taken the year before at Learn to Brew. Whilst I enjoyed learning about the process, my initial excitement was slightly tempered by the investment of time and money it takes to create a decent beer at home, so at least with the kit everything I needed had been provided for me, and with clear instructions. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, nothing, at first at least. I mashed in on the gas burners in a large stockpot. Keeping the mash temperature constant was difficult, but with with a decent food thermometer I managed to keep it within a reasonable range. Transfer proved a much bigger challenge, especially as I didn’t have a spare second pot, but again I muddled through. With the wort hopped, cooled (in ice water in the kitchen sink), and transferred to the carboy, so far so good.

My downfall was in the bottling stage. Whilst my mash had been far less efficient than I wanted it to be (according to the gravity readings) the fermented product looked and smelt good. According to the instructions, I was now to dissolve one cup of honey with one cup of water, and pour the beer in, then siphon from here into the bottles. Judging by the auto-drainpour of my self-emptying bottles two weeks later, with hindsight I wished I had taken more care at this stage….The gush was forceful, not quite ceiling height, but definitely akin to 12 mini-geysers.

So, would I have another crack at it? Yes, mainly because my partner has bought me another kit (she is much more persistent and determined than I), but also because for any beer enthusiast, home brewing seems like something you *have* to try, and by try I mean have a sustained attempt at creating something half decent. It has a certain cache that shows you can grasp beer on a deeper sense, and also, I imagine, gives you a certain sense of satisfaction at having handiwork worth sharing.